Oscar s



(No Model.)

0. S. JENNINGS.

CONVERTIBLE GHAIR AND STEP LADDER.

' Patented Sept. 26, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT EErcE.

OSCAR S. JENNINGS, OF DANBY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN E.BEERS,

OF SAME PL ACE.

CONVERTIBLE CHAIR AND STEP-LADDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 505,795, datedSeptember 26, 1893.

Application filed March 20, 1893.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that .I, OSCAR S. JENNINGS, a resident of Danby, in thecounty of Tompkins and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in a Convertible Chair and Step-Ladder; and I dohereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit pertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to convertible chairs and step ladders, and hasfor its object to increase the stability, ease of manipulation, andsimplicity of structure in such devices and to reduce their cost; and itconsists in the construction hereinafter described and particularlypointed out.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l is a porspective of the chair.Fig. 2 is a similar view of the ladder.

Numeral 1 denotes rear chair posts consistin each of a rear leg and aside rail of the chair back made in one piece; said posts 1 are rigidlysecured to each other in proper relative position by the cross bars orrails 2 to constitute a rear chair frame. The chair seat is indicated by3.

4 are the front posts or legs. These to form a front chair frame arefirmly joined by the bar or rail 5 and at their upper ends each ispivoted at 4: to a side rail 6 to which the seat is fixed.

7, 7, are side rails fixed to the front legs and pivotally connected at7 to the rear legs. Each side rail 6 is pivoted to a front leg as statedand also to a rear leg at 6'. The inner ends of pivots 6' extend intothe grooves 8 cut in the outer sides of the back posts of the chair andcan freely turn therein and they can also be moved the whole length ofsaid slots when it is desired to convert the chair into a ladder or viceversa.

Holes 9 through the side rails may be provided at the ends of the slotsor grooves 8 and the pivots 6 made slightly movable lengthwise, by ascrew thread connection if desired with said holes, whereby the pivotscan be secured, but this is not deemed essential.

Serial No. 466,902. (No model.)

A chair thus constructed is perfectly stable and no appropriate use ofit can cause it to collapse and if ordinarily well made it is firm andsafe, the weight of the chair itself tending to maintain its adjustmentas a chair which effect is increased by the weight of an occupant.

To convert the chair into a ladder it is only necessary to move thepivots 6 to the upper ends of the grooves or slots 8 thereby turning theside bars 6 and 7 on their respective pivots 4. and 7' and moving theparts into the positions indicated in Fig. 2.

12 indicates a hand hole which may be pro vided in the seat tofacilitate grasping it in the operation of converting the chair into aladder or the ladder into a chair. To effect the latter transformationitis only necessary to move the pivots 6' down to the lower end of thegrooves 8. The appropriate use of the ladder has no tendency to producethis result the pivots 4 at such times being preferably in or inside ofstraight lines drawn from pivots 6' to the feet of the posts or legs 4.If, however, the pivots i were outside of said line it would still bepractically impossible to move pivots 6' down in the grooves when theladder was occupied. The fixed parts of the structure may be joinedtogether in any suitable manner and have any form not inconsistent withthe op erations described, and any desired number of cross bars or railsmay be used between the posts or bars 1. Four is deemed a very suitablenumber and these may be variously arranged either to present an edge ora face to the foot when the article is used as a ladder. Bars 2 inclinedwith reference to the chair back as indicated will present a widehorizontal tread in the ladder and in such case other bars 2 may be usedto provide a comfortable back to the chair and strengthen the structure.But it is obvious that either set of bars could be used as steps if theothers were omitted.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is In aconvertible chair and ladder the main grooved posts 1 connected rigidlyby cross bars in combination with the rails 6 having attached theretoseat 3, the bars 7 and posts 4 said bars being pivotally connected tothe posts 1 and rigidly to the posts 4 and the rails 6 having pivotsmovable in the grooves of the posts 1, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

OSCAR S. JENNINGS. Witnesses:

MYNDERSE VAN CLEEF, WM. HAZLITT SMITH.

